The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 33

Episode 33: 10th Floor (3)

* * *

In the early dawn before the sun had even risen.

Someone was displaying strange behavior at an old playground set up in a corner of the neighborhood.

“Distribute your center of gravity evenly between both feet, relax your upper body, and when changing direction, move your head first.”

He moved forward then suddenly spun his body half a turn. He stepped left and right, then leaped backward.

It wasn’t exercise, nor was it dancing.

Though it looked ridiculous, the person involved was endlessly serious.

“Keep your vision wide. Remember the ground first, remember the enemy’s form. Grasp everything as if you have eyes on your back.”

He even pulled out two wooden swords from thin air and swung them around.

“Swords are not suitable for blocking. Especially twin swords are even more disadvantageous since they’re wielded with one hand each. Don’t block, strike and deflect.”

The wooden swords sliced through the air with swooshing sounds. The sound of scraping air spread around the area.

It was a crude yet somehow spine-chilling sound.

The strange person’s bizarre behavior only ended when the sun began to rise.

“Phew. That was tiring.”

Mincheol wiped the sweat from his forehead with the hand holding the wooden sword.

The reason for engaging in such strange behavior from dawn was to completely master Cardmos Dunwall’s knowledge.

Befitting a knight called the strongest, Cardmos Dunwall’s knowledge was vast.

He possessed abundant knowledge not only of spearmanship but also of other weapons.

Among these, Mincheol was focusing on mastering footwork techniques.

Through his experiences so far, he had painfully realized that evasion was more important than attack for survival.

“I should head back now.”

Today was the day he had decided to tackle the 10th floor.

In preparation for the boss battle, he needed to fill his stomach well and recover his stamina.

Mincheol put the wooden sword he had purchased at the auction house into his inventory and returned to his apartment.

“I’ll challenge the 10th floor.”

【Will you challenge 10th Floor Area B?】

【Extremely dangerous monsters await you on the 10th floor.】

【We hope you make thorough preparations.】

Mincheol let out a chuckle at the warning message.

“Seeing how they’re warning me like this, it must be really dangerous.”

As for preparations, he had done them to the point of exhaustion.

Mincheol spoke without hesitation.

“I’ll challenge it.”

【Entering 10th Floor Area B.】

Blinding light covered his vision.

When the light faded, Mincheol had reached 10th Floor Area B.

‘A laboratory?’

Like other Area Bs, it was a place carved out of a cave.

However, it was very spacious, with tables, experimental equipment, and beakers placed here and there.

‘It’s high.’

Mincheol said while looking up.

The ceiling was wide open. Thanks to that, moonlight was pouring down.

It was quite a beautiful sight, but he couldn’t keep admiring it.

【The boss monster guarding 10th Floor Area B notices your presence.】

On the opposite side.

Blue light shot out from a place surrounded by layers of darkness.

A large sphere revealed itself under the moonlight.

It had no legs and was floating in mid-air.

Blue light was shooting from four eye sockets pierced in the center.

Six swords rose above the Successful Golem’s head.

【The ‘Successful Golem’ recognizes you as an intruder!】

【Survive for the time limit!】

【Time Limit: 10 minutes】

The six swords shot toward Mincheol.

* * *

Top floor of Seol-aeng’s office building.

In this place where only a few people could enter, a woman was striding forward with large steps.

“Ah, Yeonhui, your vacation is over…”

An employee who spotted the woman greeted her warmly, but she just passed by coldly.

However, the employee showed no signs of displeasure and just tilted their head.

“She’s even more cold today. Is something wrong?”

“Isn’t she angry about the interview? There was quite a stir last time when the master criticized the Zero-second Swordsman.”

“Ah, right. That happened. But why was there a stir? It wasn’t something he couldn’t say.”

“The Zero-second Swordsman is incredibly popular. There are people who worship him like a god, apparently.”

While the two employees were talking, the woman arrived at the CEO’s office.

“This is Yeonhui. I’m coming in.”

Yeonhui opened the door wide and entered without even knocking.

This startled the man inside, making him flinch.

“Yeonhui, please knock before entering. You startled me.”

The man grumbled while putting down the coffee cup he was holding.

However, Yeonhui didn’t apologize and slammed her palm down on the desk.

“Master, don’t you have something to tell me?”

“What, what is it? Ah, there’s nothing.”

Seol-aeng’s master.

Lee Ji-hun slightly avoided Yeonhui’s gaze.

But it was useless. Yeonhui’s blazing stare could be felt even through his skin.

“Something very interesting happened while I was on vacation, didn’t it?”

“Well, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Why on earth did you speak carelessly about the Zero-second Swordsman? Do you know how much people are tearing apart and ridiculing the master’s statement?”

Yeonhui let out a deep sigh as if frustrated.

Lee Ji-hun asked while reading Yeonhui’s mood.

“Are they cursing a lot?”

“Yes, tremendously. Don’t tell me you haven’t checked?”

“You know I have a weak mentality. That’s why I don’t use SNS either.”

“If you know that about yourself, why did you give such an interview…”

Yeonhui was so angry that she couldn’t even speak properly.

“…Do you know what everyone is saying? That someone born on third base looks down on others, that he became a high-level Awakener thanks to his grandfather but doesn’t know his place, and they’re talking nonsense like that.”

“Haha, that’s too much.”

Lee Ji-hun burst into laughter. Yeonhui got angry again.

“What’s so funny! Everyone’s talking about Master however they want without knowing anything!”

“Now I see our Yeonhui is really angry because I’m getting criticized?”

Lee Ji-hun said playfully. Yeonhui’s brow furrowed.

“Who said I was worried about Master?”

“Come on, it’s obvious.”

Lee Ji-hun laughed cheerfully, as if grateful for Yeonhui’s actions.

“I knew people would mock me, but I had no choice but to say that then.”

“Why on earth?”

“I couldn’t stand it. Casually talking about clearing the 10th Floor.”

The smile disappeared from Lee Ji-hun’s face.

“The Successful Golem is a boss that has never been conquered even once. Not only world-class Awakeners like Malcolm Bernard, Michael Alzen, and Haruka Miyuki, but even I couldn’t defeat it.”

Though he was lacking compared to his grandfather, Lee Ji-hun was also a world-class Awakener.

He had outstanding talent and received all kinds of training from birth.

However, he couldn’t defeat the Successful Golem.

He had to run away desperately just to survive.

“That’s how great the status of the Successful Golem is among high-level Awakeners. And some mere journalist dares to mention clearing it? How could I stand that?”

Yeonhui could no longer criticize Lee Ji-hun’s answer.

She knew well how much pride he had as an Awakener.

“…Still, please be careful from now on.”

“I’ll really do that from now on.”

Lee Ji-hun said with a truly apologetic expression. Yeonhui sighed and stepped back.

“But why do you believe that even the Zero-second Swordsman won’t be able to defeat the Successful Golem?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t trust my words?”

“It’s not that, I’m asking because I’m curious why you made that judgment as a Master. The Zero-second Swordsman is on a different level compared to the Awakeners who have appeared so far.”

Until the Zero-second Swordsman appeared, people didn’t even know that EX grade existed.

The Zero-second Swordsman was not only the world’s first to achieve EX grade but achieved EX grade for 9 consecutive floors.

That’s why many people believed it would be possible to defeat the boss of 10th Floor Area B as well.

“The 10th Floor boss is on a different level. It wasn’t made to be defeated in the first place. You survive within the time limit. It’s systematically impossible to bring down.”

Lee Ji-hun said in a serious tone.

“Of course, the system isn’t perfect either. There are actual cases where the rules were broken.”

“Then isn’t it not entirely impossible for the Zero-second Swordsman to defeat the Successful Golem?”

“Yeonhui, listen to people until the end. It’s just at the level of not being completely impossible.”

Lee Ji-hun took out a ballpoint pen and pretended to fly it around in the air as he spoke.

“First, the mineral swords are the problem. People can’t even properly dodge a flying baseball. But six blades much faster than that come flying.”

Of course, Awakeners had superior physical abilities compared to ordinary people.

But not enough to dodge all six blades.

“Even Michael Alzen, who has natural talent for combat, couldn’t properly handle the mineral swords. Haruka Miyuki almost died.”

Even top-tier Awakeners couldn’t perfectly handle the mineral swords.

If even they were like that, what about Awakeners of lower rank?

“It’s not for nothing that Awakeners get new skills and equipment to pass the 10th Floor.”

10 minutes.

To endure that time, Awakeners had to wear sturdy armor and learn defensive skills.

To block and endure rather than dodge.

What about Awakeners who didn’t prepare like that?

“I can say with confidence they won’t last even 1 minute.”

* * *

Six swords came flying.

At that moment, Mincheol recalled the strategy for the Successful Golem he had researched yesterday.

‘The Successful Golem’s offensive gets fiercer as time passes.’

‘You must get used to the pattern early on. Otherwise, you can’t endure the time limit.’

This was why Mincheol didn’t use auto looting as soon as he entered.

If auto looting didn’t work, he would have to endure the mineral sword attacks with his bare body.

To survive, he needed to adapt during the safest early phase.

‘Fast.’

What looked like dots instantly grew larger. They had reached right in front of him.

Mincheol threw his body to the side.

The mineral swords passed through where Mincheol had been and shot up into the sky. Then they immediately plunged down.

Mincheol rolled on the ground, then bounced his body up.

Thang thang thang thang-

The mineral swords stuck into the ground. They made dull sounds like nails being hammered.

“Whoa.”

Mincheol exclaimed in admiration at the sight of the mineral swords piercing through the stone floor in an instant.

“Did I make a mistake challenging the 10th Floor?”

Whether it was misfortune or fortune, there was no time to regret.

Because the mineral swords pulled out from the ground came flying toward Mincheol again.

【Using Foot Swordsmanship!】

Mincheol’s hands moved like lightning.

He drew the twin swords from his waist and swung them simultaneously.

‘Don’t block them. Deflect them.’

Seeing how they easily pierced the stone floor, the force contained in the mineral swords was extraordinary.

If he tried to block them, his wrists and swords wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Mincheol struck the tips of the mineral swords with his twin swords as if deflecting them.

The trajectory of the mineral swords twisted and they bounced off to the side.

Mincheol’s eyes widened as if amazed.

“Huh? It really work… Aaaaah!”

Mincheol screamed and twisted his body.

He barely dodged the mineral swords that came flying afterward.

“Phew, I almost died…”

Mincheol’s words stopped abruptly.

Before he knew it, the mineral swords were floating around him as if surrounding him.

“No way… it can’t be?”

As if confirming it was right, mineral swords came flying from all directions.

Front, sides, overhead, rear, and so on.

No direction was the same. Thanks to that, Mincheol had to move busily.

‘Keep your vision far.’

‘Try hard to grasp the enemies’ positions.’

‘Draw it in your mind.’

Mincheol recalled the techniques of Cardmos Dunwall that he had practiced tediously.

He recalled the movements of the Phantom Knight that had dodged his attacks.

Deflect the mineral sword charging from the front. Dodge the mineral sword flying from the side. Block the mineral sword targeting the rear.

He couldn’t even breathe comfortably.

Mincheol focused solely on dodging the mineral swords.

At first, he couldn’t dodge perfectly. He got scratches all over his body.

Some wounds were quite deep, with blood flowing down in long streaks.

But gradually, the wounds began to decrease.

‘When attacking, the trajectory is always straight.’

‘They seem to come simultaneously, but there are minute intervals.’

‘They mainly aim for the torso.’

At some point, the trajectory of the mineral swords began to form in his mind.

Once he grasped their positions, he could predict what pattern they would fly in.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, this thought began to occur to him.

‘This is somewhat… manageable?’

Though it was challenging, it wasn’t as difficult as the Hunter Community had made it out to be.

‘Cardmos Dunwall’s techniques were this amazing.’

All that tedious practice of footwork had paid off.

He was withstanding the attacks of the supposedly difficult 10th Floor boss.

【Time remaining: 6 minutes 23 seconds.】

Before he knew it, more than 3 minutes had passed.

He could clear the 10th Floor just by enduring like this, but Mincheol decided to be more greedy.

‘They said the grade increases based on how much damage you deal to the main body.’

Mincheol stored his twin swords back in his belt. Then he opened his inventory and grabbed an axe.

After deflecting an incoming mineral sword, he immediately threw the axe toward the Successful Golem.

But the axe Mincheol threw was immediately deflected by a mineral sword.

He tried several more times, but the results were the same.

The mineral swords were simultaneously attacking Mincheol while blocking all attacks.

“Wow, how annoying… Aaaah!”

Mincheol was clicking his tongue when he threw his body to dodge a mineral sword.

* * *

“If close combat isn’t allowed, then try ranged attacks. That kind of thinking was inevitable. Many awakeners actually tried it.”

“Haruka Miyuki did too, right?”

“Yes, but she failed miserably. The mineral swords blocked every single attack aimed at the main body.”

Arrows, magic, even sword energy.

All attacks were blocked by the mineral swords before reaching the main body.

“The option of destroying the mineral swords wasn’t great either. Even if you broke them, they would regenerate.”

Impenetrable defense, invincible spear.

The Successful Golem possessed both.

“If we could just suppress the mineral swords, we could defeat it, right?”

“That’s impossible at a low-floor awakener’s level.”

A high-floor awakener could easily defeat something like the Successful Golem.

But it was impossible at a low-floor awakener’s level.

They had lower levels than high-floor awakeners and lacked skills and equipment.

“If specs won’t do it, you have to push through with talent. But even Grandfather, who was a genius among geniuses, couldn’t defeat the Successful Golem.”

It wasn’t just Grandfather.

Malcolm Bernard, Michael Alzen, and so on.

Countless geniuses had been frustrated by the Successful Golem.

“No one can handle that thing.”

Lee Ji-hun spoke in a resolute tone.

* * *

Approaching was impossible.

All ranged attacks were blocked too.

Then it was time to test the remaining method.

Mincheol aimed at a mineral sword flying straight at him.

At that moment, the mineral sword vanished without a trace.

“Oh, it really works?”

A smile bloomed on Mincheol’s lips.

Mincheol sheathed his twin swords.

With empty hands, he had no way to deflect the mineral swords.

No matter how accustomed he’d become, avoiding all the mineral swords was impossible.

As if seeing this as an opportunity, the mineral swords all aimed at Mincheol and struck down in unison.

Mincheol didn’t dodge the mineral swords. Instead, he opened his inventory and pulled out a long, black object.

【Black Long Thing】

He gripped the spear shaft firmly. He raised one foot high.

But the mineral swords were faster than Mincheol could throw his spear.

Just before the mineral swords pierced his torso, Mincheol activated his unique skill.

【All ‘Mineral Swords’ within a 600m radius will be acquired.】

【5 ‘Mineral Swords’ acquired.】

All the mineral swords pouring down at Mincheol disappeared completely.

The surroundings instantly became quiet.

Mineral crystals began gathering around the Successful Golem. It was regenerating the mineral swords.

But one step faster than that.

Thud-

Mincheol, who had stepped forward powerfully, threw the spear he was holding.

Meteor Spear Technique.

Chapter 1: Starlight Soaring to Heaven.

A streak of light pierced through the center of the golem.

* * *

“But won’t the Successful Golem eventually be conquered someday?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Unlike the old days, nowadays a lot of knowledge has accumulated, and above all, it’s easier to obtain high-grade items.”

At Yeonhui’s question, Lee Ji-hun clapped his hands as if understanding.

“Ah, so you’re saying it might be possible if we give high-grade items to awakeners challenging 10th Floor Area B?”

“Yes, exactly. Many hidden pieces have actually been solved that way, right?”

“There was actually an attempt made by China.”

“Really?”

Lee Ji-hun briefly looked around.

“This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone anywhere. I heard the Qiuchuan Alliance in China once challenged 10th Floor Area B by providing legendary-grade skills and items.”

“Huh? Really? How do you know that?”

Yeonhui asked back in surprise.

Information related to hidden pieces was treated as top secret by all guilds.

Moreover, the Qiuchuan Alliance was a place where such secrecy was even more severe.

She wondered if Seol-aeng’s information network was really that extensive.

“Grandfather heard it while drinking with the Qiuchuan Alliance Former Master.”

“…Ah.”

Yeonhui was dumbfounded by the reason that was much more pathetic than expected.

“Grandfather didn’t hear exactly what item was deployed either. But anyway, they said it teleported to close range and destroyed it in one strike.”

“Huh? Then doesn’t that mean the subjugation was successful?”

“But the destroyed golem was immediately restored.”

“Restored?”

“Not only that, but the pattern completely changed too.”

Yeonhui’s expression became strange.

So if you compare this to a game…

“You’re saying there’s a second phase?”

* * *

A large hole was pierced through the center of the golem.

Thud- Thud-

The golem fell straight to the ground. Its spherical body rolled across the floor.

“Huh? It actually worked?”

Mincheol was flabbergasted.

“Wow! It worked! It worked!”

Mincheol jumped up and down in place, shouting in celebration.

That’s when it happened.

The golem rose back into the air, and the debris scattered on the floor filled the hole.

“Huh?”

Somehow the atmosphere didn’t seem right. Mincheol’s instincts stirred.

【’Successful Golem’ detects a crisis!】

【’Successful Golem’ enters annihilation mode!】

“…Annihilation?”

The spherical main body transformed. Two legs extended out and touched the ground.

A waist rose up and an upper body was generated.

Finally, both arms popped out.

“Whoa…”

At that ominous sight, Mincheol broke out in a cold sweat.

Mineral swords floated up behind the golem’s back with a whoosh.

Seeing that, Mincheol’s cold sweat increased even more.

“I think I’m pretty much fucked.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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